


Unlove You

by sourpatchedkid



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Best Friends, M/M, Slow Build, kind of sad
Language: Filipino
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:21:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22129396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sourpatchedkid/pseuds/sourpatchedkid
Summary: It's as cliché as it gets—Baekhyun and Chanyeol are best friend. Baekhyun falls for him. Chanyeol falls for him too. Neither of them say anything. Baekhyun leaves. Chanyeol stays. Baekhyun comes back. Chanyeol is sure. Baekhyun is scared. Chanyeol wonders. Baekhyun retreats.In where, there are people meant to be your lover and there are people meant to stay as your best friend.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol
Comments: 3
Kudos: 47





	Unlove You

Baz and Boop

-

**_It’s Boop who breaks first and Baz watches unknowingly._ **

The third door to one’s right in the Byun’s residence slams open. A drunk man strips off of his clothes, kicking them under the bed before he slams the door close. He stands by the bed, staring at the figure sleeping on the bed—the figure he’s about to disturb in a few seconds—and then sighs. He kicks the figure’s leg and squeezes all of his six feet glory on the single bed. He elicits a groan from the figure. After all, he’s almost about to squish the figure. He finds a way though—he slides down and pulls the figure’s arm to serve as his pillow and nuzzles closer to the figure’s neck. The figure’s breathing hitches for a second before it goes back to normal again. _He’s awake._ The figure helps him get comfortable by pulling his arm over him. His leg immediately slides in between the figure’s. He moves closer again until he deems himself comfortable. The figure is much, much shorter than he is but somehow it works. _It always does._

A hand finds its way to the back of his head. He breathes against the pattern of the figure’s. _In, out. Out, in._ He’s staring at the skin barely exposed on his chest. His hand grabs the back of the figure’s shirt—for leverage or for comfort, he isn’t quite sure.

“You okay?” The figure asks. “What time is it?”

“04:18.” He sighs. He closes his eyes and drops his forehead against the figure’s chest. It’s a wonder how someone as tall as him could fit in someone like the figure’s. Whether it’s with much practice or God’s grace, he’s thankful. _This is all the he needs._ “I’m sorry for waking you.”

“S’alright.” There’s a faint kiss pressed on his forehead. “Everything okay? You haven’t come here in a while.”

The figure adjusts himself against him but he doesn’t stop rubbing circles on his head. He opens his mouth to say something, anything, and he even tries to come up with a lie but nothing comes out. The hums of the air conditioning fills in the silence. In the end, he shakes his head and buries his head further.

“Just missed you, that’s all.”

“Just missed me, huh?” The figure repeats, a small chuckle coming out of his mouth. “I missed you too, Boop.”

Boop sighs against him and pulls him closer. The truth is that Boop has been outside his house since 1 in the morning. He only gathered the courage to use his spare key three hours later.

Boop or Chanyeol Park to many is the lead guitarist and main vocalist of the rock band EXO. He stands six feet on barefoot and six foot three with his insoles on. He has large brown eyes and a perfectly sculptured nose and a pair of ears that perk up like the ones of his dog’s. Except his is kind of permanent. He’s a big baby, as his mom would describe him to her peers. He’s a kind-hearted soul, as his older sister would say to the press. He’s our generous buddy, as his bandmates would label him.

He’s Boop to his best friend.

Boop met his best friend in fifth grade when he was still the chubby little kid with a pet ferret. He was snotty and sweaty and he liked to boop the noses of those he likes—his pet ferret, Dave, and his best friend, Baekhyun Byun. Like an overly excited dog, instead of jumps or hugs, Chanyeol preferred grabbing Baekhyun’s face and bumping their noses—a boop. This habit carried on until high school and college. Even when he debuted as the rock band’s front man and even when he grew so much and Baekhyun didn’t, he would bend down to boop his best friend’s nose anywhere and everywhere—as a hello, thank you, goodbye, or just a plain old “notice me”. As a result, Baekhyun coined his nickname Boop and it wasn’t like people could call him that too. No matter how many people found it funny that huge guy like him liked to do something so soft, no one was ever allowed to call him Boop. The last time someone did, Chanyeol went on a thirty-minute lecture as to why the nickname is important to him and why no one else can use it.

Baekhyun Angelo Zion Byun is the EXO frontman’s best friend. On some days, he’s Professor Byun but on most days, he’s the guy spotted tagging along EXO in photos. Baekhyun was born in the United States where his parents got overly excited about naming him more than three syllables so they got two more names of the nurses that helped deliver him. Baekhyun was the name of the grandfather he never met. Angelo and Zion were the names of the nurses. After moving back to Korea at six months old, he became _just_ Baekhyun Byun. Just three syllables. Only Chanyeol knows of his actual name. He saw his birth certificate when they were in sixth grade and after a while, began calling him Baz. A mononym of his name. Likewise, with Boop, no one called him Baz except his best friend.

Well, one tried and didn’t end very well. When Chanyeol was still training with his band, one of his members—Sehun—handed Baekhyun a bottle of water whilst mumbling “For you, Baz” to which Chanyeol heard and sulked for the rest of the day.

**_Baz almost grabs his face to kiss him when he sees it but like a flicker of the light, the shimmer is gone before he could get a hold of it._ **

_“Why would you let him call you that?” He asked as he kicked the pebbles on the way home. Although Baekhyun was never interested in becoming a singer or a celebrity, he would still tag along his best friend’s practices just for the heck of it. “You’re my Baz.”_

_Baekhyun chuckled at his best friend’s childishness. It’s such a wonder how the company decided he would be the mysterious one when almost everything about him was transparent._

_“Of course, I am.” Baekhyun tugs Chanyeol’s sweater sleeve to get him to stop walking. “I’ll always be your Baz, you know that right?”_

_Chanyeol has been towering over him since their Sophomore year in high school. They were twenty now. Baekhyun was in first year of University while Chanyeol was putting education on pause for the entertainment industry. But sometimes, Baekhyun forgets just how evident their size difference is. He takes a step back in surprise. Chanyeol scowls and pulls him back. The tip of their shoes were touching and Chanyeol stared at their worn-out Chucks whilst promising in his head to get them new ones once he gets paid. Baekhyun nudges him with a finger on his chest and smiles._

_“Cheer up, Boop. You’re debuting in a few days. Smile.” He forces a smile on his lips by lifting both of his cheeks up. “Come on.”_

_“You promise to always be my Baz, right?”_

_“Of course.” Baekhyun’s hands finds its way to the taller’s waist. “What’s bothering you? Are you anxious about your debut?”_

_“Very much so.” Chanyeol lets out a large sigh before placing both of his arms on Baekhyun’s shoulders. “Mostly, just scared of change. Like as much as I want to be in this band, I also really like my life the way that it is now.”_

_“Shouldn’t I be the more worried one?” Baekhyun counters. “You’re gonna get famous and you’re gonna get all these groupies and you’re gonna meet a shitload of people and they’re gonna want to be friends with you and I’ll just be in university. That sounds scarier for me, don’t you think?”_

_Chanyeol chuckles at the absurd mess that his best friend is saying. He presses a long, sloppy kiss on the smaller’s forehead. A grin appears on his lips when he pulls back._

_“I’ll always be the Boop to your Baz.”_

_“Come what may?”_

_“Come what may.”_

Chanyeol debuted when he was twenty in a rock band with his fellow trainees—Junmyeon, Jongdae, Jongin, and Sehun. On his showcase, Baekhyun had his first prelim exams. He caught up with the whole performance right after in the comfort room in his university. He was so, so proud. As a child, Chanyeol did nothing but sing and hum. Even when they were getting tested for careers, Chanyeol excelled most in the field of music. Baekhyun was sure that somewhere and some way, Chanyeol was going to be a musician of some sort. It just happened a little earlier than he expected.

The debut was a success. Not only did the group’s social media accounts garner two million people overnight, their personal accounts increased in number as well. Chanyeol was pretty sure that he woke up with only four thousand followers but he went to sleep with a million point three. It was crazy. Chanyeol couldn’t stop beaming and talking later that night to Baekhyun and the latter couldn’t help but cry. He was so, so proud.

It began from there. By their first anniversary, EXO had their first daesang. They sold two million copies of their album and they were the Song of the Year recipient. To say that life had turned upside down for all five members was an understatement. Baekhyun, being the best friend to one of them, was part of the rollercoaster ride as well. If he wasn’t in University, he was probably in one of the studios with them or sometimes even touring with them. No one questioned as to what his role was. All they knew was that Chanyeol functioned better with him around and they want their best songwriter and producer to be in his best mood, always.

All Baekhyun knew, then, was that he breathed better whenever he was around Chanyeol but what he learned in the last year or so was more than just breathing better or being happier— _he was in love with Chanyeol._ It took more than a decade for him to figure it out. He was in one of the band’s after parties when he knew. He was hanging out with the very drunk bassist of the band—Jongin—when he saw Chanyeol enter the room. With one beer in one hand and a friend in another. Oh. _Oh._

**_It’s Boop who runs first when he recognizes the feeling and Baz tries not to cry._ **

Enter Kyungsoo Do. Kyungsoo Do is the set designer for the fifth tour of the band. He was young and fresh and he was what Chanyeol called his soulmate. They were nearly the same age with the same wits and humour. He was much shorter than Chanyeol to which the latter found cute. Somehow after being friends for years with Baekhyun, it was only then that he realized that someone short was cute. Really.

Within the month of knowing each other, Kyungsoo and Chanyeol began dating. It all happened so fast that he didn’t even have time to tell Baekhyun until their third month. Baekhyun’s schedule finally freed up so he was able to join the band for the remaining dates of their tour. Everyone and everything was the same except that Chanyeol happily and drunkenly made his way to him with a friend in tow.

“This is my soulmate.” He said to Baekhyun. _Oh._ “This is Kyungsoo.” Before he could add anything else, he grabs Kyungsoo’s face and ki—no, wait— _boops_ his nose. “Hah! Shorty.”

“Ugh,” Kyungsoo whines but it’s not more than a flirty joke between them. “Mr. Booper. Boop. Stop booping me, you booper.”

The room fell in silence even though Kyungsoo’s voice was quiet, it was as if the whole room heard it. _Boop._ Baekhyun stands awkwardly in front of the new couple. He shifts from one foot to another as he watches the _soulmates_ gaze at each other. A very drunk Chanyeol continues to boop Kyungsoo’s nose.

Despite all these, Baekhyun finds his voice.

“Pleased to meet you, Kyungsoo. I’m his friend, Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun goes back home after that. All the alcohol has exited his system by the time he got home. He was kneeling in front of his apartment complex, one hand clutching on his stomach while the other was holding on to the wall. Along with his disgusting vomit was a bucket of tears. He couldn’t even think straight. He was stuck between blaming him for realizing his feelings too late and blaming Chanyeol for not even waiting (or trying). The image of Chanyeol in another person’s arms wouldn’t leave his head and Baekhyun couldn’t help but think of how perfect they looked together. More than that, _Chanyeol looked so happy._ He finally found his soulmate.

**_Baz wants him to be happy;  
Baz loves him even more._ **

“The fuck is a soulmate even.” He rants to his older brother Minseok the day after. He was nursing his hangover when his brother barged in his apartment. According to the older Byun, Baekhyun left a series of wailing voice messages which prompted a visit.

“I called you a hundred times and you didn’t pick up.” Minseok said as he angrily chopped spring onions for the hangover soup. “Don’t do that again. You sounded like you were being murdered.”

“I know I sound like a dying cat when I cry but that’s a little too much.”

Minseok shakes his head at his younger brother. He turns up the stove before pouring in the minced onions. He wipes his hands on his apron before turning to Baekhyun. A table top is in between the two Byuns.

“Well?” Minseok prompts. “Explain.”

And so he does but he plays it off cool. Like it really doesn’t bother him except he feels like he’s _losing his best friend_ to which Minseok scoffed.

“It’s a wonder why you two aren’t dating, really.”

“So?” Baekhyun groans. “The fuck is a soulmate even.”

“It’s like a best friend…” Minseok starts, staring off into the pot he’s boiling. “But more. Someone who inspires you to be a better person. Someone who accepts and loves you for all that you are.”

This time, it was Baekhyun’s turn to scoff.

“Isn’t that what I am to him?”

Minseok takes a ladle to taste the soup.

“If you were, shouldn’t you be the person he’s parading as his soulmate?” Minseok watched as his younger brother’s face falls down. The whole ordeal of being the oldest child of any family is the sheer pride you feel when you annoy your siblings but this time was different because Baekhyun’s face fell down and so did his tears. Soon enough, the younger Byun was on the floor, knees pulled to his chest, bawling his eyes out. Minseok turned off the stove and removed his apron before sitting down next to his brother. “Hey.”

“Shut up.” Baekhyun allows himself to be pulled by Minseok to his arms, his head against his chest. “I love him, hyung.”

“I know.” Minseok wants to say that all the while he thought, Chanyeol knew too. He kind of wants to ask on behalf of his brother, how they got around to this point but the feel of Baekhyun’s body shaking against him and the sound of his bawling couldn’t even give Minseok the time to wonder and be angry. He has never seen Baekhyun like this. Not once, not ever. Between the two of them, he was the cry baby and Baekhyun was the funny one. “How can I fix this, Baek?”

The answer comes in the form of a sneeze and a sigh. In the next couple of days, Baekhyun finds himself packing up for a _soul-searching trip_ to which all expenses are paid by Minseok. It doesn’t matter now that said financer is standing by his doorway giving a lecture about how his life isn’t a movie and that soul-searching isn’t real and how expensive this whole ordeal is. Baekhyun chooses to ignore him as he throws one pair of pants after the other. Just a couple of hours after that, Minseok drives him to the airport. _I’m going to China,_ Baekhyun says. Minseok doesn’t say much, just grabs him by the collar to give a sloppy kiss on the head.

“Take care and come back soon.” Minseok tells him. “If this is what you need then go have all of it. I love you, okay?”

Baekhyun nearly cries when he pulls away and sees Minseok’s face full of worry.

“Love you.” He mouths back. “I’ll be back soon.”

**_They’re two different people who blended perfectly. It was the first time they exploded._ **

_Soon_ as Chanyeol would learn later in the day was in _three months._ The longest he would ever have to live without Baekhyun. He’s pacing back in forth in his dressing room, phone pressed against his ear, seething with so much betrayal and anger.

“Why wouldn’t you tell me?” He hisses on the phone. He called to ask Baekhyun to join him in their North American tour—their last leg before they work on their sixth album—but is surprised by the sound of an airport announcement in foreign language—Mandarin, to be specific. He learns so much in a minute—Baekhyun just landed in China, Baekhyun is heading to Shanghai, and Baekhyun won’t be coming home for the next three months. He nearly drops his phone when he hears the surge of information. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“Soul searching.” The other puts simply. “Hang on, I need to pull—ahh, yes. Yes. Shie, shie. Anyway, _Chanyeol,_ I’ll be back soon. I just need to sort out some things here. You know, with my doctorate and all.”

“Don’t tell me you’re planning to do school there because—“

“And what about it?” Baekhyun snaps. “I can’t always tail after you, you know?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Chanyeol’s shouting now. His bandmates are shushing him. Their team is eyeing him. Chanyeol doesn’t care. His fists are clenched and so are his teeth. “I don’t understand why you won’t tell me such important information.”

“You didn’t tell me about Kyungsoo but did you hear anything from me?”

_Silence._

“That’s a different sto—“

“That isn’t any different than this.” Baekhyun cuts him off. The other line goes visibly quiet. Chanyeol wonders if Baekhyun hid in the washroom or if he’s in the car already. “You’re going around telling people you’re going to be with this guy forever and I don’t even know who he is. One day, we’re joined to the hip and the next—“

“You’re telling me that you’re getting back at me for having a boyfriend?” Chanyeol asks, voice bitter. “Are you fucking kidding me? What are you, twelve? Are you—God, Baz. You’re so childish.”

“Yup.” Baekhyun pops the “p” to make a point. “I am very, very childish. In fact—“

_“Chanyeol-ssi, places.”_

Baekhyun sighs. Chanyeol, on the other hand, mumbles something before a series of muffling sounds is heard on the phone.

“Come back, please.” His voice sounds almost like a beg and Baekhyun knows that he’s so close to actually turning around and doing what he asked. “I can’t do tours without you. You’re my home. You’re my best friend and I—“

“I’m _just_ your best friend.” Baekhyun reiterates, voice calm but firm. “And you have other friends. You have your boyfriend. I’m play _just_ a small part in your narrative, Chanyeol. So, just go back to work and we’ll forget we even fought today. Plus, I gotta go figure this out.”

“Figure what out? I’ll help. I’ll—“

“I have to do this alone, Chanyeol.”

“Can you _fucking_ stop calling me Chanyeol, please Baz!” Chanyeol yell-whispers. His voice cracks in the end and so does Bakehyun’s heart.

“Well, Kyungsoo calls you Boop.” Baekhyun sighs. He’s actually sitting on top of a toilet in a closed cubicle. “What’s so important about nicknames anyway?”

“Because we’re Boop and Baz!”

Baekhyun pretends that the sound of Chanyeol crying doesn’t affect him, not one bit. Chanyeol has always been more emotional than him. He wears his heart on his sleeve and because of that, Baekhyun appointed himself as the person who would protect it. He pretends that the sound of Chanyeol sniffing and hiccupping on the other line doesn’t bother him at all. He bites on his lip to stop himself from crying too— _this is all too much._

“We’re always going to Boop and Baz.” Baekhyun whispers, voice shaky and unsteady. “Chanyeol, I really have to go, okay? Perform well and be good. Try not to hit anyone when you laugh and don’t get drunk too much—“

“Baz—“

“Be good, okay?” Baekhyun pauses, thinking if he should say it. Somehow now, he knows it’ll have a different meaning. “You’re going to be okay. I need this.”

“But Baz—“

“I love you, Boop.”

_Cut._

The planned three months turns into four and then to five and then all of a sudden, Baekhyun has been in China for half a year. Chanyeol makes it a point to call him every day but Baekhyun also tries to avoid it as much as he can. He settles for photos online from stills of his concerts or from new endorsement shoots. _I’m moving on,_ he thinks. No matter how absurd his decisions were or bizarre his life situation is.

Baekhyun has never been in love and now he is and he’s scared. Nothing like this has ever happened before. He hasn’t been simultaneously scared and happy around someone and that shit does things to your heart. It’s been six months and he’s still trying to convince himself that this is what he needs.

**_Today’s Special: Signature Chocolate with a Sprinkle of Change_ **

In comes Yixing—an underground musician living both in China and Korea. They met at the café Baekhyun frequents and maybe Baekhyun has a certain type (tall, funny, a musician) because he finds himself entertaining the stranger asking if he could sit across him. One coffee turned into lunch turned into another coffee. Yixing was a breath of fresh air with no idea of his life in Korea. He doesn’t identify Baekhyun as “Chanyeol’s best friend” or “that one guy next to Chanyeol all the time”. To Yixing, he was just Baekhyun.

“You’re cute and funny.” Yixing told him six dates later and it’s completely new to him that someone is seeing him in this light. His heart flutters unexpectedly and he knows he’s about to lose control of whatever these new feelings were _but it’s okay._ Just as long as he isn’t Chanyeol, _that’s okay._ Yixing was smart and he made Baekhyun laugh. He’s polite and kind. He’s funny without trying to and he looks at Baekhyun like he’s the best person in the world.

But Yixing wasn’t his boyfriend. Yixing was just a friend. Because someone so precious should be handled with care and the risk of dating and breaking up and losing Yixing altogether didn’t sit very well with Baekhyun. _Was this how Chanyeol saw him? Their friendship?_ It’s been three weeks since they last spoke. Chanyeol seemingly gave up on trying and Baekhyun is trying to be okay with that.

Baekhyun makes a mistake of posting a photo of Yixing on a Monday afternoon. It seemed too hard to resist. Yixing was laughing _so hard_ about a cat joke and Baekhyun has never seen anyone so fascinating until then. Yixing is hitting the table so hard, _~~just like Chanyeol~~ , _so Baekhyun takes out his phone to snap a photo. The photo easily makes it way to his Instagram story with a caption of “Monday’s music. Boops for all of you from this dying, laughing bub.” and a laughing and heart emojis.

**_Baz could be in complete disarray and Boop would love him all the same._ **

EXO drops a single two days after that— _Cherry._ Baekhyun listens to it during one of his morning runs. He’s jogging at six in the morning when the acoustic sounds fill his earphones.

 _Don't you call him "baby"  
We're not talking lately  
Don't you call him what you used to_ _call_ _me._

Baekhyun thinks that maybe he and Kyungsoo have broken up. Maybe he’s taking care of his broken heart that’s why he hasn’t been reaching out to Baekhyun again. Maybe Kyungsoo has another guy now and for a soulmate, that’s a lot to take.

 _I, I confess_ _I can tell that you are_ _at your best  
I'm selfish so I'm hating it  
I noticed that there's a piece of you in how I dress  
Take it as a compliment._

Some time when they were growing up, Chanyeol began wearing clothes that Baekhyun could ~~steal~~ borrow from him too. From shirts to jackets to everything in between. Baekhyun smiles at the memory of Chanyeol just shaking his head at him every time he would leave the Park residence with a stolen shirt on. Since the time he flew to China, he muted all stories and posts of Chanyeol except of course, for the main band’s page. That’s all that he has at the moment. He doesn’t really know if Chanyeol’s style has changed in the last six months—if Kyungsoo has influenced him of some sort.

_I, I just miss  
I just miss your accent and your friends  
Did you know I still talk to them?_

Baekhyun can’t wrap his head around the idea that Chanyeol has befriended more people in the last six months. Despite his job, he can be really picky of those he hangs out with. It has to be mom-approved and Baekhyun-approved. Anyone that doesn’t sit well with either of the two, he becomes wary of. Wait, does Kyungsoo have an accent? From what he knows, the guy is from Seoul only. It’s him that has this thick, satori accent but that really doesn’t matter now. Chanyeol often sounds like him anyway. Whoever Kyungsoo’s friends are must feel so lucky to have the giant around, he thinks. Even after they broke up.

_Does he take you walking 'round his parents' gallery?_

Baekhyun remembers vividly one similarity between him and Kyungsoo. Sehun drunkenly and generously told him on the day that he met the soulmate that both their parents were artists. Baekhyun’s parents were painters and so are Kyungsoo’s. How lucky is Chanyeol to be constantly surrounded by art even when Baekhyun isn’t around?

The acoustics fade slowly and then all at once. Baekhyun thinks that it’s a good song—a heartfelt song. Maybe he’ll send the boys a congratulatory message later in the group chat. _If he remembers._ But he stops in his tracks when he hears a familiar voice, a familiar laugh, a familiar conversation— _their conversation—_ as part of the song.

_I hate cherries.  
No, it’s okay you can have it.  
We’re a perfect match for this black forest cake._

The acoustic starts again and then he can hear his own giggle reverberating in his ear.

_Love you always._

He nearly trips on the flat surface when the song finally ends. He takes out his earphones from his ear and paces himself. He begins to walk but his chest feels constricted and his vision is getting blurry. He can’t be wrong. That conversation was when Chanyeol impulsively bought a Black Forest Cake after a particularly hard day at work. He meant to ask for chocolate but he was panicking because of a crying Baekhyun on the phone that he pointed at whatever and picked up the box without checking.

Baekhyun crouches on the sidewalk and runs his hand over his face. He takes his phone out of his pocket and scrolls through the sea of messages in his inbox. In the middle was Chanyeol’s thread. It’s been a while, really.

 **[06:07AM]  
** _Cherry huh?_

In a split second, there was a reply.

 **[From: Aa. Boop, 06:07AM]  
** _I thought you wouldn’t ever hear it._

 **[06:08AM]  
** _You want all the royalties to yourself, huh?_

 **[From: Aa. Boop 06:08AM]  
** _Want you to come home._

 **[06:08AM]  
** _Soon. I love the song though._

 **[From: Aa. Boop 06:08AM]  
** _Thanks_

 **[From: Aa. Boop 06:09AM]  
** _I realized some things after you left._

**[From: Aa. Boop 06:09AM]**  
_After your Instagram story the other day too._

**[06:09AM]  
** _I know. I heard the song._

 **[06:10AM]  
** _How are things back home?_

 **[From Aa. Boop 06:10AM]  
** _Sucks without you._

 **[From Aa. Boop 06:10AM]  
** _Please come home._

 **[06:10AM]  
** _Yixing has a show soon. Might come with him to Seoul._

 **[From Aa. Boop 06:11AM]  
** _Please don’t call him Boop too._

 **[From Aa. Boop 06:11AM]  
** _I don’t like not having you here. It’s been six months, Baz. Please come home._

 **[06:12AM]  
** _I’m sorry I messed us up._

**[06:12AM]**  
_You know my emotions get the best of me sometimes._

**[06:12AM]  
** _I messed up and I’m sorry._

 **[From Aa. Boop 06:13AM]** _  
You didn’t mess up anything. It was me. I was looking at everyone but you._

 **[From Aa. Boop 06:13AM]** _  
But us._

 **[From Aa. Boop 06:13AM]** _  
Because I’m stupid._

 **[From Aa. Boop 06:14AM]  
** _Because I was looking for something I kept denying._

 **[From Aa. Boop 06:14AM]  
** _It took me a while that all that matters was you. Because you’re Baz._

 **[From Aa. Boop 06:14AM]  
** _Because I’m yours._

 **[06:15AM]  
** _I can’t do this right now. We’ll talk soon, okay?_

 **[06:15AM]  
** _I’ll come home soon. Take care, Boop._

**_Boop notices his hands;  
Baz is holding his home._ **

Soon comes in another six months. At this point, Baekhyun has been gone from home in about a year. EXO went on to win another daesang and are preparing for their sixth album. They’ve been excusing their main vocalist from public appearances due to health reasons but it’s really just because he can’t deal with cameras and questions right now. Not when Baekhyun is miles away and refuses to come back. Not when his unanswered questions are piled up in the corner of his room, in their favorite café, and in his spot in the studio. Not when he can’t even drink to forget because he keeps hearing Baekhyun’s nagging voice at the back of his head.

Not when he’s so scared to forget his voice because they haven’t talked in nearly six months at this point and he’s so, so scared and— _oh._ Baekhyun just confirmed his attendance at their year-end concert but he notifies EXo’s manager that he’s bringing a plus one.

Yixing Zhang smiles brightly at him when he spots him in their waiting area. He stands up to shake Chanyeol’s hand and he politely asks how he is and wishes him good luck. He spots Baekhyun in Sehun’s head lock with a laughing Jongin taking a video of the whole thing. For a split second, it feels like nothing has changed. Baekhyun is grabbing Sehun’s leg. This is usually the part where Chanyeol steps in to kick Sehun’s leg to get him to stop but his feet won’t cooperate with his brain. They won’t move from the floor as if he was glued on it. Instead, it’s Junmyeon who steps in, grabbing Sehun by the collar and it’s Jongdae who makes sure that Baekhyun doesn’t fall on the floor. Baekhyun flees immediately and Chanyeol absent-mindedly opens his arms to take him in. Instead, he falls in the arms of the new person in the room—Yixing.

“I could’ve died!” He giggles, lips against Yixing’s shirt. “And you only stood there to watch!”

“He’s huge!” Yixing laughs with him, pointing at Sehun who’s now getting a lecture from his stylist and Junmyeon. He pulls away from Baekhyun to fix his hair and then he presses a kiss on his nose. “You alright?”

“Could be better.” Baekhyun stands up and finally realizes that Chanyeol is standing not more than three feet away from him. His smile falters for a split second and then he beams again. “Boop—boop, hey.”

“Hi.” Chanyeol’s voice barely comes out. His lips shut tight when he feels Baekhyun’s arms around him and as quick as he came, it was gone before he could hug back. “They told me you were coming today.”

“Yeah,” Baekhyun tugs on Yixing’s sweater. “This is Yixing.”

“We met.”

“ _Oh._ ”

The floor director breaks the awkwardness. He has a lapel in his hand and he’s gesturing for Chanyeol to wear it. He greets Baekhyun and Yixing with a smile before he moves to the next member. Another staff member comes in between them with a small bowl of caramel popcorn and a bottle of water.

“Chanyeol—ssi, you haven’t eaten today. Have a little? We heard that these are your favorite.” Baekhyun hears the staff say. With not more than a shake of his head, the staff exits unsuccessfully.

All of a sudden, the room becomes quiet. Everyone’s eyes are on the new pair and Chanyeol. Before, Baekhyun can make a joke, Chanyeol excuses himself to leave. The show was starting in a couple of minutes. Baekhyun and Yixing were ushered to their seats and what a surprise it was for Chanyeol to see them holding hands during the song he wrote for him.

Like always, the band and their team head to a barbeque place to celebrate and like old times, Baekhyun tags along with them. Yixing excuses himself to have dinner with his other Korean friends. He promises to meet with Baekhyun the next day and they talk about their other schedules briefly before parting. When he leaves, Baekhyun feels unsecure. He doesn’t know where to sit or where to stay. It seems that so much has changed although everyone pretends that nothing has. Chanyeol comes in late, freshly showered and laughing with the ajumma who owns the place. He slips into the seat next to Sehun where there’s another empty seat which was usually for Baekhyun. With a gentle push from Junmyeon who came in late as well, he sits next to his ~~first love~~ best friend.

**_Boop hopes he loves Baz as much as he does;  
A part of Baz knows that he doesn’t._ **

They’re tired after their sixth soju. Everyone’s tired anyway. Drunk and tired, they trudge towards the karaoke place across the barbeque restaurant. Baekhyun excuses himself to take a phone call. It was his brother, wondering why a Chinese man dropped his things at home a while ago. He explains to him as he nods at everyone drunkenly making their way inside. Except for one.

Chanyeol is sitting on the pavement with a soju in one hand and his phone on the other. He’s trying to book a taxi of some sort. Baekhyun notices the flush in his cheeks and the redness of his ears. Give him a bed and Chanyeol would pass out. He says his goodbye to his brother and tells him that he’ll go home in a bit before making his way to Chanyeol.

“Boop, go inside.” He says. “It’s cold out here.”

“Hmm,” Chanyeol hums in reply. “I don’t know how to do Instagram live.”

Baekhyun chuckles and takes his phone from him. He gets a quiet “Hey!” from Chanyeol.

“Come on.” He stretches his hand to him. “You’re drunk. You’ll be on the news if you do an Instagram live like this.”

Instead, Chanyeol pulls him down. He ends up sitting next to him on the cold concrete. He shivers instantly and like a well-practiced dance, Chanyeol automatically pulls out an extra pair of gloves and hands it to him. No, wait—helps him wear it.

“Thanks.” Baekhyun mumbles, watching his drunk best friend try to slip in all of his fingers into the right places of the glove. “You didn’t have to drink so hard, you know?”

“I do this all the time.”

“You’ll end up in the hospital at this rate.”

Chanyeol pauses what he’s doing to look at him.

“Will it kill me?”

“Probably.”

“Good.”

Baekhyun flicks his forehead at his answer but Chanyeol doesn’t flinch.

“That’s not good and don’t talk like that. People are gonna miss Korea’s Rock Prince.”

“Will you?”

“Will I what?”

“Miss me when I’m gone?”

“Of course.” Baekhyun helps him tug on the glove. He motions to Chanyeol that he can do the other one. The latter watches him to it swiftly and then sits back properly. His back slams on the wall and Baekhyun widens his eyes in panic but perhaps because of how drunk he is; he doesn’t flinch nor does he complain.

“If you’re going to miss me when I die, why didn’t you come home soon? You said three months.” Chanyeol’s head is against the wall as well and his eyes are closed. He takes a swig of his soju and hums in contentment. “I made a mistake, Baz.”

Baekhyun feels something in him hurt. He doesn’t know where yet.

“Me too, Boop.”

“I know you get scared easily and you tend to run away when push comes to shove,” Chanyeol opens his eyes but doesn’t look at him. “But why didn’t you run to me? _I’m your best friend._ ”

“Because that’s exactly why.” Baekhyun makes a fist while pulling on his sweater. “Because you were the one I was scared of—of how you made me feel and how you found someone else to make you feel that way too.”

Chanyeol lets out a bitter chuckle and then he takes another swig.

“The only thing you feared back then was aging.” Chanyeol sighs, the corner of his lips turning up a little. “You didn’t like that your grandma’s skin sagged as the days go by. So you put on all these creams on your face to prevent it. You were scared to lose your perfect vision and that you wouldn’t be able to see me from a mile away to make one bad decision after the other. You said you needed to look out for me in every way possible and that if your vision changed, it would be harder for you to stop me. What was that— _oh._ You were scared that I wouldn’t stop growing; that it’d be hard for you to jump on me or pull my hair and just—“

“Yeah.” Baekhyun remembers the list they made when they were ten. “I was a scaredy cat.”

“But do you remember what I said?”

Baekhyun glances at him but Chanyeol still isn’t looking his way. He could see, though, how hard he’s gripping on the bottle neck of his soju to the point that his knuckles have turned white.

“You said we were going to figure it out with each passing year and that I didn’t have to worry.”

Chanyeol nods, smiling completely now. He turns his head to Baekhyun, whose eyes now are brimming with tears. He’s biting his lips to stop them from falling. Chanyeol wants to reach out to him and wipe them away but he can’t seem to do anything so again, he looks away.

“I thought the same for every aspect of our life, Baz.” He says, sadly. Voice low and quiet. “Come what may we were always going to figure things out. You and me. No worries. I nearly had Hakuna Matata tattooed on my ass if only Sehun didn’t stop me.”

“Oh, god.” He finds in himself a small laugh. “That would be a lot to explain to anyone who sees it.”

“I know.” Chanyeol chuckles too. He looks at Baekhyun with a sad, questioning smile on his face. “I just always thought about it. How we would always figure it out. So I waited for weeks and months and then all of a sudden, you were gone for a year. I was beginning to think we weren’t ever going to fix this.”

“I’m sorry—“

“S’alright, Baz. You take what you need. Anything that will make you happy.” Chanyeol finishes the bottle of Soju and places it carefully between the two of them. “Hey,”

“What?” Baekhyun takes the bottle between them in places it in front of him before scooting closer to Chanyeol. He wipes face and looks at Chanyeol.

“I’m in love with you.” Chanyeol breathes out a sigh of relief as soon as he says it. Meanwhile, Baekhyun loses the color on his face. “I’m sorry I realized it too late.”

“Chanyeol—“

“I just wonder if you think about it sometimes, you know? About us.” Chanyeol notices the paleness on Baekhyun’s face. He leans down to boop his nose but it doesn’t do anything. Baekhyun is still looking at him like he’s seen a ghost. “Or if I’m the one left trying to figure it out, still.”

 _It’s something Baz ends up not saying so he wraps himself around Boop;_  
Home, he realizes, isn’t which country he is.  
It’s wherever Boop is.

Boop is sleeping soundly right next to Baz.

Baekhyun can smell the alcohol in his breath—around him, really—but he doesn’t mind. When he excused himself at midnight, he left Chanyeol with the rest of his team to continue celebrating. He went home, took a shower, cried in the shower, and then went back to sleep.

How is it that his heart has never been more calm since he left for China? His brother left to stay with his fiancé with a promise that they’ll come visit Baekhyun in the morning for breakfast. He wakes up ten minutes later. He can’t seem to fall asleep despite the alcohol in his system. He tosses and turns, and plays with his phone. He dozes off again.

When Baekhyun wakes up, a figure is trying to squeeze himself next to him. He recognizes the smell of soju and then the smell of his air. Like reflex, he drapes his hand on his shoulder. The figure squeezes more and more until his chest touches his.

“You good, Boop?” Baekhyun asks. “I’d like to sleep now.” He jokes, playing with the hair on the back of his head.

“Sleep.” Chanyeol murmurs. “I smell like soju, I’m sorry.”

“S’alright.” Baekhyun presses another kiss on his head. He continues to play with his hair until Chanyeol’s breathing creates a pattern which means that the latter has fallen asleep. To that, Baekhyun feels tranquil. As if this was what all his chaos needed.

According to a Chinese legend, the gods tie an invisible red cord around the Finger of those that are destined to meet one another in a certain situation as they are "their true love". In Korea, it is believed that the red string is tied to their little finger. The two people connected by the thread are said to be destined for each other despite the circumstances. It can stretch and tangle but the red string of fate can never break.

As Baekhyun slowly falls into a deep slumber, he can’t help but think that maybe this is _it._ Whether it’s God’s grace, His will, destiny’s plan, the universe’s ordeal, or the red string of fate, he silently thanks it for its what saves Boop and Baz every time.

**_In the softness of his snores, Baz faintly whispers to the universe how much he loves him too._ **

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'm baaaaaaaaaaack-ish. 
> 
> Please let me know what you think!  
> Send me your favorite LINE, QUOTE, SCENE!! Let's talk or DM me or something!!  
> TWITTER: @__jonginnie (Yes, two underscores)
> 
> PS: Will proofread tomorrow. Am tired xx


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